Secure Defense Consulting® consults on Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) matters as they affect clients’ eligibility for Facility Security Clearances (FCL). Nowadays many organizations interested or already engaged in contracts requiring U.S. facility security clearances (FCL) are either owned, controlled, or influenced by foreign persons or interests (FOCI). This foreign control or influence can take forms one might not immediately guess, such as owing money to foreign entities; having contracts or agreements with foreign organizations; having foreign persons influence the management or management personnel of the organization; and other issues. If any FOCI cannot be mitigated sufficiently to alleviate the U.S. government’s concerns about its risks to national security, then the U.S. government will deny the organization a facility security clearance or revoke its current facility security clearance.
We consult on Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) issues at various stages of the facility security clearance process: assessing an organization’s eligibility for a facility security clearance; when a company has been sponsored for a facility security clearance; and maintaining a facility security clearance that is subject to a FOCI mitigation agreement. There are a variety of Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence “action plans” or mitigation agreements that the U.S. government recognizes. We can consult and advise on the particular plan most suitable or likely for our client’s individual circumstances and needs.